Delivering virtualized content

ABSTRACT

Techniques for delivering virtualized content are disclosed. In some embodiments, source content is virtualized by mapping elements in the source content to existing database objects, and a specification of the virtualized version of the source content is provided to an output device in response to a request from the output device for the source content. In some such cases, a format of the source content, a format of the virtualized version of the source content, and a native format in which the virtualized version of the source content is rendered at the output device all comprise different formats.

CROSS REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/068,977, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,013,804, entitled DELIVERINGVIRTUALIZED CONTENT filed Oct. 31, 2013 which is incorporated herein byreference for all purposes, which claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/720,857 entitled RENDERING DIGITAL CONTENT filed Oct.31, 2012 which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Display roadmaps are rapidly transitioning from formats such as Full HD(1920×1080 pixels) to 4K UHD (3840×2160) as a consumer standard. Theindustry is also anticipating changes to even larger formats such as 8KUHD (7680×4320) within the next decade. However, the standards beingdefined for the UHD formats of video (up to 120 frames per second) willchallenge available broadcasting and streaming bandwidth, particularlyfor wireless devices. The standards also challenge the industry'sability to produce input hardware (i.e., camera/video technologies) thatmatches up to the native output capability of the display hardware forthe general consumer. High quality content creation for these newformats is not possible for the common user, and all video contentcaptured prior to the UHD standards will not be natively compatible withdisplay hardware in the near future. That is, the most common onlinecontent can never be viewed as a high quality experience with upcomingdisplay hardware. Furthermore, imagers will lag display quality for theforeseeable future. Regardless, for amateur users,environmental/lighting conditions are typically not ideal for capturinghigh quality content. Moreover, less than ideal timing, shootingproblems, spontaneous events, etc., also often reduce the quality ofcaptured content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the followingdetailed description and the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a high level block diagram illustrating an embodiment oftypical stages associated with communicating content.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a high levelcontent distribution process based on context abstraction.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the architectureof the disclosed content distribution platform based on contextabstraction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as aprocess; an apparatus; a system; a composition of matter; a computerprogram product embodied on a computer readable storage medium; and/or aprocessor, such as a processor configured to execute instructions storedon and/or provided by a memory coupled to the processor. In thisspecification, these implementations, or any other form that theinvention may take, may be referred to as techniques. In general, theorder of the steps of disclosed processes may be altered within thescope of the invention. Unless stated otherwise, a component such as aprocessor or a memory described as being configured to perform a taskmay be implemented as a general component that is temporarily configuredto perform the task at a given time or a specific component that ismanufactured to perform the task. As used herein, the term ‘processor’refers to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing coresconfigured to process data, such as computer program instructions.

A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the invention isprovided below along with accompanying figures that illustrate theprinciples of the invention. The invention is described in connectionwith such embodiments, but the invention is not limited to anyembodiment. The scope of the invention is limited only by the claims,and the invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications, andequivalents. Numerous specific details are set forth in the followingdescription in order to provide a thorough understanding of theinvention. These details are provided for the purpose of example, andthe invention may be practiced according to the claims without some orall of these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technicalmaterial that is known in the technical fields related to the inventionhas not been described in detail so that the invention is notunnecessarily obscured.

FIG. 1 is a high level block diagram illustrating an embodiment oftypical stages associated with communicating content, such as image,video, or other multi-media content. At stage 102, source content iscaptured by a camera or other recording device. The format and qualityof the source content is based on the capabilities and limitations ofthe recording device. At stage 104, the source content is processedand/or stored for immediate (i.e., real time) or later distribution. Forexample, the content processing of stage 104 may include contentcompression for easier storage and distribution. In some embodiments, aslater described herein, the content processing of stage 104 comprisescontent conversion into a prescribed computational space. At stage 106,the content is delivered to and rendered at a destination device.

Typically, the quality of rendered content at a destination device isrestricted by and does not exceed the quality of the source contentdespite the rendering capabilities of the destination device. However,the limitations of source content quality pose a growing challenge asrapid improvements occur in the hardware of destination devices. Poorquality source content is not suitable to serve the demands of HD (highdefinition) and emerging beyond-HD capable destination devices. StandardHD is quickly giving way to 2K HD, which will evolve into 4K HD.Moreover, hardware roadmaps already contemplate 8K HD, i.e., UHD (ultrahigh definition), which is approximately sixteen times the format sizeof standard HD.

Techniques for decoupling the format and quality of source content aswell as the format and quality of the same content processed for storageand distribution from the rendering capabilities of a destination deviceare disclosed in detail herein. The disclosed multi-media technologyplatform facilitates flawless quality when rendering content from anarbitrary source on any of a plurality of types of destination devicesby allowing performance up to the capability of the receiving system(including best-in-class display technologies) to be achieved. Thus, ahigh fidelity, cinematic quality viewing experience may be realized fromany image or video source. The disclosed techniques not only allow usersto create visually stunning image and video content anywhere, at anytime, and on any device without having to be an expert in multi-mediacontent creation tools but also allow users to re-imagine content innearly unlimited ways. Although image or video source content isdescribed in many of the given examples, the techniques disclosed hereinmay be extended to and employed with respect to any multi-media content.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a high levelcontent distribution process based on context abstraction. At step 202,source content is obtained. For example, image or video content isobtained at step 202 from a device employed to capture the contentand/or previously captured content is obtained from storage. At step204, the content obtained at step 202 is contextualized. For example,one or more elements and/or characteristics of the context of thecontent are identified at step 204. At step 206, the contextualizedcontent is converted to a prescribed, proprietary computational space.For example, elements and/or characteristics of the context of thecontent identified at step 204 are abstracted and transformed intoobject-based representations at step 206. Such object-basedrepresentations may be based on existing object assets residing in adatabase or cloud of assets. Alternatively, a new object representationmay be determined and added to such a database or cloud. In someembodiments, the conversion of step 206 substantially, if notcompletely, virtualizes the source content such that little, if any, ofthe original source content (e.g., pixel and/or other data) is preservedwhen converted to the computational space based representation at step206.

The content is optionally augmented at step 208. In most cases, thecontent is augmented to include at least one or more elements orfeatures that were never a part of the original content obtained at step202 but are included to provide an enhanced viewing experience at adestination device. At step 210, the content is provided to adestination device for rendering. Since the computational space isagnostic to the destination device, a perfect match for the capabilitiesof any destination device can be achieved using process 200. Thus,content may be rendered at a destination device based on the nativeformat of the destination device as well as in the best qualitysupported by the destination device. For example, using process 200,source content captured via a relatively low resolution mobile phonecamera may be rendered at a high resolution destination device incinematic quality. In some embodiments, the content augmentation of step208 may be performed client-side at a destination device.

As described, process 200 facilitates a high fidelity viewing experienceregardless of the format or quality of the source content and offersunprecedented variability within the actually rendered content. Thedisclosed platform does not comprise merely compressing, upscaling,and/or replicating the appearance of source content. Rather, informationgathered from contextual clues from the source content is employed tovirtualize or create a re-imagined version of the content. In mostcases, information is being added to, not removed from, the content.That is, more information than what is present in the original sourcecontent is provided for rendering at an output device. In many cases,the virtualized or re-imagined version of the source content comprisesvery little, if any, of the data comprising the original source content.Moreover, the content may be re-imagined differently for differentoutput devices, for example, based on the rendering capabilities of thedevices and/or other criteria associated with the devices. A keyobjective of the disclosed approach is not to create a lossless versionof the source content, although that may coincidentally be an outcome,but rather to prioritize creation of content best suited for thecapabilities of a destination device and/or customized for thedestination device or a user thereof.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the architectureof the disclosed content distribution platform based on contextabstraction. This architecture provides novel techniques for creating,re-imagining, remastering, streaming, and rendering digital content. Thevarious blocks of content distribution platform 300, for example, may beconfigured to perform corresponding steps of process 200 of FIG. 2.Block 302 comprises source content obtained from an input source. Invarious embodiments, the input source may comprise an imaging device(such as a camera) or may comprise existing multi-media content. Block304 comprises a recognition engine configured to identify one or moreelements and/or characteristics of input source content 302. That is,recognition engine 304 contextualizes source content 302. In variousembodiments, recognition engine 304 may be configured to identifyfeatures, objects, background, illumination environment, etc., withininput source content 302 using any combination of one or more standardand proprietary machine vision methods and/or assisted by human input.

Block 306 comprises a mapping engine configured to correlate and map theelements and/or characteristics identified by recognition engine 304 tothe best matches available from an existing database 308 in which objectspecifications comprise prescribed computational space basedrepresentations. In some embodiments, mapping engine 306 is furtherconfigured to determine relative positions and orientations ofidentified objects within the model environment or scene representingthe input source content. In many cases, objects in database 308 mayneed to be morphed or modified through available parameterization tomatch identified objects. In cases in which a suitably close matchcannot be identified, an object may be substituted for by a best guess.Alternatively, an object and its associated properties may be created onan ad hoc basis from an analysis of source content 302 (e.g., byextracting geometry and texture) and submitted into database 308 for useduring matching and mapping. In some cases, the correlation and/ormapping performed by mapping engine 306 is at least in part assisted byhuman input. In many cases, the environment or scene representing theinput source content modeled by mapping engine 306 comprises little, ifany, of the original data comprising input source content 302 since themodeled environment or scene comprises database object basedrepresentations of content. Thus, input source content 302 iseffectively virtualized or re-imagined.

Block 308 comprises a database comprising an archive of available masterobjects and their associated properties. The depth and complexity ofdatabase 308 increases over time as it is populated as more and moredata becomes available. An object entry in database 308 may comprise anyappropriate and applicable parameters for specifying the object. Forexample, an object specification may include data comprising geometry(e.g., shape and size), surface texture, optical response toillumination, and/or any additional properties associated with theobject (e.g., brand name, date and location of origin of manufacture,material properties, etc.). In some embodiments, object properties areparameterized to the extent possible to broaden the class of objectsthat can be represented by a given master object. Database 308 may bepopulated using any one or more appropriate techniques, some examples ofwhich are depicted in FIG. 3. For instance, data comprising database 308may be bootstrapped 310. That is, an object model may be created bydirectly extracting relevant data from input source content 302.Further, data comprising database 308 may be extracted from availablesources 312. That is, object data may be extracted from other existingsources of image and/or video content. Moreover, data comprisingdatabase 308 may at least in part be entered by a user 314. That is,object data may be provided by user input comprising, for example,modeled/simulated data and/or data obtained via direct scanning and/orimaging of physical objects. Database 308 stores data associated withfrequently appearing objects that can be used to generate content andadaptively improves over time as more objects and/or associatedproperties are learned.

Block 316 comprises a content context modification engine configured tomodify and/or customize the environment or scene modeled by mappingengine 306 according to desired performance criteria. For example, themodeled environment may be altered by modifying objects, substitutingobjects with alternatives, and/or removing objects altogether. Moreover,the lighting of the modeled environment (e.g., lighting type andposition, luminance, chromaticity, etc.) may be modified. In addition,perceived performance errors in the modeled environment or scene may beappropriately corrected as applicable. In the case of human subjects(i.e., parameterized master objects representing people in the sourcecontent), for instance, problems in gaze, appearance, etc., may becorrected. Furthermore, alternative camera positions/perspectives may beintroduced into the modeled environment, for example, in addition to orinstead of a default virtual camera appropriately located in a positionto recreate a perspective defined by the source content.

Block 318 represents providing or outputting the modeled environment,for example, to a (requesting) client or destination device at which themodeled environment is desired to be rendered. Instead of originalsource content 302 being provided, parameters defining objectscomprising the model representing source content 302 are delivered. Sucha model environment specification may include, for example, objectidentifications, relative positions, and orientations; background andlighting environment specifications; camera position; etc. In someembodiments, a subset of the object database needed to create themodeled scene is provided. Alternatively, a copy of the subset of theobject database needed to create the modeled scene may already beavailable at the client site or destination device to which the modelenvironment is delivered and thus need not be provided. In someembodiments, block 318 includes storing a specification of the modeledenvironment or scene, e.g., for later distribution.

Block 320 comprises a rendering engine configured to render theenvironment or scene defined by the model at an output device (e.g., aflat panel display) with the characteristics of the objects referencedto the properties provided by the object database. Best in classtechniques from the computer graphics industry may be applied byrendering engine 320 when rendering a scene. The subset of the objectdatabase needed to render the scene may be accessed by rendering engine320 through a local copy or through direct access to database 308. Inmany cases, the scene is rendered by rendering engine 320 with a qualitythat is matched to the maximum quality performance achievable by theoutput device, i.e., is optimally matched to the display format, colorperformance, frame rate, etc., of the output device. Moreover, the scenerendered by rendering engine 320 may be personalized or customized basedon a user and/or profiling of a user of the output device.

The described techniques for content distribution based on contextabstraction offer numerous benefits. A high quality viewing experiencemay be delivered regardless of the quality of the source content andeven when the source content is significantly degraded, e.g., due tocompression artifacts or other noise. In many cases, the source contentonly has to be of sufficient quality for recognition engine 304 toidentify features, objects, and background types. For example, in somecases, six bits of color per pixel in the source content are sufficientrather than thirty bits. Moreover, compression based block artifacts arein most cases acceptable; thus, very high compression ratios viatraditional methods may be used to store the source content.

A scene captured by a common user using a device with consumer gradesensors having limited dynamic range is not only of relatively lowresolution/quality but also is typically filmed without proper lightingor environmental conditions. However, using the disclosed techniques,viewed content can still be very high quality. Once an object isrecognized, local tone correction can be applied, and highlightssaturating an image can be corrected naturally when the scene is relit.Similarly, any other perceived imperfections can be corrected in orremoved from the scene. For example, image stabilization as well as postprocessing to correct for performance errors may be introduced asapplicable. With respect to a human subject, for instance, gaze may becorrected, closed eyes may be opened, stray hair may be removed, etc.

In various embodiments, content may be edited and/or re-imagined withany number of alternative visual qualities (e.g., lighting, surfacecharacteristics, camera perspective, etc.) than originally intended fromthe source, and new and/or different content may be introduced. Forexample, a scene may be re-rendered with an advertiser's content such asbrands, images, products, etc. Moreover, content may be personalized orcustomized based on an end user. Since object models may be specified in3D in database 308, corresponding content may be naturally rendered in3D if desired. Conversely, content may be rendered as a cartoon (e.g.,in anime style) if desired.

For many applications, the disclosed content distribution techniquessignificantly reduce required communication bandwidth, for example,compared to traditional video codec approaches. Ultra-low bandwidth isespecially feasible with fairly static scenes since object motion is theonly required data that needs to be communicated. For example, videoconferencing applications (such as telepresence, video chat, mobilevideo calls, etc.) are particularly well-suited for the disclosedplatform. Source content from a low quality webcam, for instance, may berendered in a UHD enabled telepresence conference room in cinematicquality. In addition to providing an ultra-low bandwidth solution formany applications, the disclosed content distribution techniquesfacilitate cinematic quality content creation at very low cost andoverhead and without requiring expertise by an end user. Existingcontent may be easily re-imagined and/or remastered in limitless ways.For example, any archived image or video source may be renderedbeautifully with cinematic quality on a UHD display. Additionalapplicable fields in which the disclosed techniques may be especiallyrelevant include applications in the gaming, entertainment, andeducation industries as well as in any other industry in which efficientcontent distribution is paramount.

The described content contextualization platform is furthermore amenableto search applications, particularly contextual based image and videosearches. A search may be conducted by searching for something accordingto one or more object definition criteria. Alternatively, a search maybe conducted by creating content that best matches the search criteria.Content may be created, for instance, by modifying something that isquite close already (e.g., by re-lighting, re-orienting, and/or colorcorrection; object removal and/or editing; etc.). Searches may beefficiently conducted against a network of one or more databases (suchas database 308) comprising content libraries of object assets.

The manner in which database objects are specified and stored in thedescribed architecture moreover facilitates future proofing multi-mediacontent libraries with respect to evolving display and viewingtechnologies and standards. Further, content generation in 2D and 3D iseasily supported since many database objects are inherently specified in3D. Additionally, multi-scale object databases may be linked,facilitating support of an “infinite zoom” feature allowing advancedzooming, possibly down to even micro-scale and nano-scale levels.

In addition to the aforementioned advantages and applications, markettrends in display technology are anticipated to favor the disclosedcontent distribution techniques based on context abstraction. Toaccommodate emerging display technologies, a new paradigm for contentdistribution will be imperative. The disclosed techniques provide onesuch architecture that is not only viable and scalable but also economicand resource efficient.

Although the foregoing embodiments have been described in some detailfor purposes of clarity of understanding, the invention is not limitedto the details provided. There are many alternative ways of implementingthe invention. The disclosed embodiments are illustrative and notrestrictive.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a processor configured to:obtain source content; generate a virtualized version of the obtainedsource content by mapping elements in the source content to existingdatabase objects; and provide a specification of the virtualized versionof the source content to an output device in response to a request fromthe output device for the source content; wherein a format of the sourcecontent, a format of the virtualized version of the source content, anda native format in which the virtualized version of the source contentis rendered at the output device comprise different formats, wherein thevirtualized version of the source content comprises a higher quality andmore information than the source content but is provided to the outputdevice using less communication bandwidth than needed for providing thesource content, and wherein the native format in which the virtualizedversion of the source content is rendered at the output device isgenerated by modifying the virtualized version of the source contentbased on one or more criteria of the output device; and a memory coupledto the processor and configured to provide the processor withinstructions.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtualized versionof the source content does not comprise any original source content. 3.The system of claim 1, wherein a set of existing database objects towhich the elements of the source content are mapped collectively definesa model environment.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein providing thespecification of the virtualized version of the source content comprisesproviding a specification of the model environment.
 5. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to modify thevirtualized version of the source content and wherein to provide thespecification of the virtualized version of the source content comprisesto provide a specification of the modified virtualized version of thesource content.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor isfurther configured to store the specification of the virtualized versionof the source content.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein thespecification of the virtualized version of the source contentfacilitates rendering of the virtualized version of the source contentaccording to various rendering capabilities of any of a plurality oftypes of output devices.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the nativeformat at the output device comprises a maximum quality achievable bythe output device.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the differentformats comprise different resolutions.
 10. The system of claim 1,wherein the different formats comprise different qualities.
 11. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the format of the source content comprisescompression.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the format of thevirtualized version of the source content comprises 3D.
 13. The systemof claim 1, wherein the native format in which the virtualized versionof the source content is rendered at the output device comprises 2D. 14.The system of claim 1, wherein the native format in which thevirtualized version of the source content is rendered at the outputdevice comprises 3D.
 15. The system of claim 1, wherein the nativeformat in which the virtualized version of the source content isrendered at the output device comprises a higher resolution than aresolution of the format of the source content.
 16. The system of claim1, wherein the native format in which the virtualized version of thesource content is rendered at the output device is different than atother output devices at which the virtualized version of the sourcecontent is also rendered.
 17. The system of claim 1, wherein thevirtualized version of the source content comprises a prescribedcomputational space based representation.
 18. The system of claim 1,wherein a rendering quality of the virtualized version of the sourcecontent at the output device is matched to a display format, colorperformance, frame rate, or combination thereof of the output device.19. A method, comprising: obtaining source content; generating avirtualized version of the obtained source content by mapping elementsin the source content to existing database objects; and providing aspecification of the virtualized version of the source content to anoutput device in response to a request from the output device for thesource content; wherein a format of the source content, a format of thevirtualized version of the source content, and a native format in whichthe virtualized version of the source content is rendered at the outputdevice comprise different formats, wherein the virtualized version ofthe source content comprises a higher quality and more information thanthe source content but is provided to the output device using lesscommunication bandwidth than needed for providing the source content,and wherein the native format in which the virtualized version of thesource content is rendered at the output device is generated bymodifying the virtualized version of the source content based on one ormore criteria of the output device.
 20. A computer program productembodied in a non-transitory computer usable storage medium, comprisingcomputer instructions for: obtaining source content; generating avirtualized version of the obtained source content by mapping elementsin the source content to existing database objects; and providing aspecification of the virtualized version of the source content to anoutput device in response to a request from the output device for thesource content; wherein a format of the source content, a format of thevirtualized version of the source content, and a native format in whichthe virtualized version of the source content is rendered at the outputdevice comprise different formats, wherein the virtualized version ofthe source content comprises a higher quality and more information thanthe source content but is provided to the output device using lesscommunication bandwidth than needed for providing the source content,and wherein the native format in which the virtualized version of thesource content is rendered at the output device is generated bymodifying the virtualized version of the source content based on one ormore criteria of the output device.
 21. The method of claim 19, whereinthe virtualized version of the source content does not comprise anyoriginal source content.
 22. The method of claim 19, wherein a set ofexisting database objects to which the elements of the source contentare mapped collectively defines a model environment.
 23. The method ofclaim 22, wherein providing the specification of the virtualized versionof the source content comprises providing a specification of the modelenvironment.
 24. The method of claim 19, further comprising modifyingthe virtualized version of the source content and wherein providing thespecification of the virtualized version of the source content comprisesproviding a specification of the modified virtualized version of thesource content.
 25. The method of claim 19, further comprising storingthe specification of the virtualized version of the source content. 26.The method of claim 19, wherein the specification of the virtualizedversion of the source content facilitates rendering of the virtualizedversion of the source content according to various renderingcapabilities of any of a plurality of types of output devices.
 27. Themethod of claim 19, wherein the native format at the output devicecomprises a maximum quality achievable by the output device.
 28. Themethod of claim 19, wherein the different formats comprise differentresolutions.
 29. The method of claim 19, wherein the different formatscomprise different qualities.
 30. The method of claim 19, wherein theformat of the source content comprises compression.
 31. The method ofclaim 19, wherein the format of the virtualized version of the sourcecontent comprises 3D.
 32. The method of claim 19, wherein the nativeformat in which the virtualized version of the source content isrendered at the output device comprises 2D.
 33. The method of claim 19,wherein the native format in which the virtualized version of the sourcecontent is rendered at the output device comprises 3D.
 34. The method ofclaim 19, wherein the native format in which the virtualized version ofthe source content is rendered at the output device comprises a higherresolution than a resolution of the format of the source content. 35.The method of claim 19, wherein the native format in which thevirtualized version of the source content is rendered at the outputdevice is different than at other output devices at which thevirtualized version of the source content is also rendered.
 36. Themethod of claim 19, wherein the virtualized version of the sourcecontent comprises a prescribed computational space based representation.37. The method of claim 19, wherein a rendering quality of thevirtualized version of the source content at the output device ismatched to a display format, color performance, frame rate, orcombination thereof of the output device.
 38. The computer programproduct of claim 20, wherein the virtualized version of the sourcecontent does not comprise any original source content.
 39. The computerprogram product of claim 20, wherein a set of existing database objectsto which the elements of the source content are mapped collectivelydefines a model environment.
 40. The computer program product of claim39, wherein providing the specification of the virtualized version ofthe source content comprises providing a specification of the modelenvironment.
 41. The computer program product of claim 20, furthercomprising computer instructions for modifying the virtualized versionof the source content and wherein providing the specification of thevirtualized version of the source content comprises providing aspecification of the modified virtualized version of the source content.42. The computer program product of claim 20, further comprisingcomputer instructions for storing the specification of the virtualizedversion of the source content.
 43. The computer program product of claim20, wherein the specification of the virtualized version of the sourcecontent facilitates rendering of the virtualized version of the sourcecontent according to various rendering capabilities of any of aplurality of types of output devices.
 44. The computer program productof claim 20, wherein the native format at the output device comprises amaximum quality achievable by the output device.
 45. The computerprogram product of claim 20, wherein the different formats comprisedifferent resolutions.
 46. The computer program product of claim 20,wherein the different formats comprise different qualities.
 47. Thecomputer program product of claim 20, wherein the format of the sourcecontent comprises compression.
 48. The computer program product of claim20, wherein the format of the virtualized version of the source contentcomprises 3D.
 49. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein thenative format in which the virtualized version of the source content isrendered at the output device comprises 2D.
 50. The computer programproduct of claim 20, wherein the native format in which the virtualizedversion of the source content is rendered at the output device comprises3D.
 51. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the nativeformat in which the virtualized version of the source content isrendered at the output device comprises a higher resolution than aresolution of the format of the source content.
 52. The computer programproduct of claim 20, wherein the native format in which the virtualizedversion of the source content is rendered at the output device isdifferent than at other output devices at which the virtualized versionof the source content is also rendered.
 53. The computer program productof claim 20, wherein the virtualized version of the source contentcomprises a prescribed computational space based representation.
 54. Thecomputer program product of claim 20, wherein a rendering quality of thevirtualized version of the source content at the output device ismatched to a display format, color performance, frame rate, orcombination thereof of the output device.